Toronto Mayor Rob Ford gets green light to run in by-election

Rob Ford will be allowed to run in a by-election for the Toronto mayor's job should one be held.

All right, let’s do it all again.

News that Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will be allowed to run in a potential
byelection broke on Friday after the judge that threw him from office clarified
his stance on the subject.

Justice Charles Hackland addressed his ruling from earlier this week, which
said that Ford was to be removed from office for breaching the Municipal
Conflict of Interest Act and would not be allowed to run for the remainder of
the term.

The Toronto Star reported that Hackland removed a portion
of the ruling that made it sound like Ford could not run again until the 2014
municipal election.

So let’s keep this straight. This does not change the fact that Ford was found guilty of inappropriately
participating in a debate over whether he should pay back questionable
donations collected for a personal charity while using his clout as a city
official.

This does not change the fact that, pending appeal and a stay of execution,
he will be removed from office as of Monday, Dec. 10. This doesn’t mean that a
byelection must be held to find his replacement.

This clarification means that, should council choose to hold a costly
$7-million byelection, Ford can participate. Brother Doug is off the hook.

Hackland’s original ruling found that Ford must vacate his seat as mayor but
would face no repercussions “beyond
the current term,” which had been interpreted to suggest he could not run in a
byelection.

Ford had maintained that he would
be allowed to run in the possible byelection, and under Hackland’s new
clarification he is right.

There is a first time for
everything.

The clarification will of course be considered a
victory for Ford, who derided his ouster as part of a left-wing conspiracy
against him. He later asserted that he respected the courts, which is just
bully for Canada’s justice system.

We hope you have enjoyed the last two woefully
entertaining years, because we could be on the verge of playing them all over
again. Ford has been thrown from office, reprimanded for his abuse of power and
still managed to learn nothing.

After a day-and-a-half of eating
humble pie, Ford returned to council as brash and bombastic as he ever was,
conducting a shouting match with Coun. Adam Vaughan and accusing him of the
“shakedown” of a condo developer.

The
CBC reports that the battle erupted during a debate over a Queen Street
condominium. Vaughan was seeking council approval for a deal he reached with
the developer, which would secure $1 million in fees that would go to improving
the sidewalks around the building.

Ford said Vaughan was trying to extort the condo
company, but later retracted his comment.

Following the outburst, Vaughan
told 680 News that the mayor was simply trying to score
political points.

"I think we're all tired of the mayor's
behaviour, poor choice of words and belligerent behaviour. It's a
disturbing pattern, it's the pattern that has plunged this city into the
ambiguity it now finds itself in. I think all of Toronto is as weary of this
behaviour as I am," he told the radio station.

While the Ford’s fate remains up in the air, it does
seem like things are getting back to business at city hall. For better or
worse, Ford is at it again. And the chances that he’s not finished just got a
lot better.